Nashville: The ‘Corned’ Dog At Etch Is Bringing All The Chefs To The Yard

Nashville: The ‘Corned’ Dog At Etch Is Bringing All The Chefs To The Yard

For Deb Paquette, it’s all about the brine

Etch is one of the hottest new restaurants in Nashville and Deb Paquette is one of the Music City’s most beloved chefs. With over 30 years of experience in town, her reputation for bold flavors and international culinary influences has earned her a rabid following among local diners and fellow chefs.

So it’s no surprise that when Paquette decided to debut a hot dog on Etch’s new lunch menu, it was going to be something special. She started with an all-beef Wagyu wiener, a fine base, and worked tirelessly to train this dog a new trick. After over 60 different trial runs, Paquette developed a method to vacuum seal each individual sausage in a pickling brine of mustard seeds. (She also inserts a hollow needle through the middle of each dog to allow the brine to saturate the beef inside).

The result is what she cheekily calls a “corned dog,” like a Reuben sandwich in a different delivery system. The salty snap of the casing gives way to a delicious briny beefy interior. Served on a subtle pumpernickel bun baked in-house by her talented pastry chef Meghan Williams, the dog is not overpowered by the flavors of rye or caraway seeds. Paquette tops her corned dog with pickled red onions, Beemster cheese, a sweet pickle aioli made with Korean gochujang and a brussels sprout slaw to add some crunch.

What started out as a fun challenge to elevate the humble hot dog has turned into one of the most popular items on Etch’s menu. More than one Nashville businessman has been seen rolling up the sleeves on his dress shirt to raise this messy masterpiece to his mouth. It’s definitely worth the dry-cleaning bill.